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T O P I C R E V I E W

Robert Pearlman

STS-120 mission patch

STS-120 is the 23rd shuttle mission to the International Space Station, and will launch an Italian-built U.S. multi-port module for the station.

Air Force Col. Pamela Melroy will command the STS-120 mission to take the Node 2 connecting module to the station. Melroy, a veteran shuttle pilot, is the second woman to command a shuttle. Marine Corps Col. George Zamka will serve as pilot. The flight's mission specialists will be Scott Parazynski, Army Col. Douglas Wheelock, Stephanie Wilson and Paolo Nespoli, a European Space Agency astronaut from Italy. Zamka, Wheelock and Nespoli will be making their first spaceflight.

Expedition 15 Flight Engineer Clayton Anderson will return to Earth from the space station aboard STS-120. That flight will carry his replacement, Daniel Tani. Tani will return on mission STS-122.

Robert Pearlman

Quoting what was posted to the cS front page:

The STS-120 crew, led by commander Pam Melroy, will wear a black, blue and gold mission patch that features their primary payload and that appears to draw from the Astronaut Office symbol for its design. The circular badge is ringed by the seven names of the crew, including an Italian flag next to European Space Agency astronaut Paolo Nespoli's name. The insignia displays a shuttle orbiter with the embedded outline of the Node 2 multi-port module. The constellation Orion appears to be rising over Earth's horizon, below the Moon and Mars. A sunburst balances the patch, opposite the planets. A stylized vector gold completes the insignia.

A few more details:

The shuttle with its trailing lines and the gold vector does indeed represent the Astronaut Office symbol;

The gold vector is in the shape of a '6' to represent the primary crew members of STS-120;

The vector also indicates a path from the Earth to the ISS, which is represented by the large white star — the "sunburst" — soon to be "the brightest in the sky, brighter after we relocate P6," per Commander Melroy;

The red and gold outlines on the white star indicate the crew's relocation of the P6;

The background stars are the constellation Orion as a nod to the next generation crew vehicle.

Does that mean that the picture was taken on the 28th November 2006? So the patch was already designed at that time?!?!

Robert Pearlman

My understanding is that the design of the insignia was finalized in December. The date on the photo is likely when the portrait was taken; the patch was later added digitally.

JGJ

STS120-S-001 (February 2007) — The STS-120 patch reflects the role of the mission in the future of the space program. The shuttle payload bay carries Node 2, the doorway to the future international laboratory elements on the International Space Station. On the left the star represents the International Space Station; the red colored points represent the current location of the P6 solar array, furled and awaiting relocation when the crew arrives. During the mission, the crew will move P6 to its final home at the end of the port truss. The gold points represent the P6 solar array in its new location, unfurled and producing power for science and life support. On the right, the moon and Mars can be seen representing the future of NASA. The constellation Orion rises in the background, symbolizing NASA's new exploration vehicle. Through all, the shuttle rises up and away, leading the way to the future.

NavySpaceFan

With the crew portrait now posted, I'm wondering who designed the mission emblem? It shares alot of design elements with STS-92's emblem, so did COL Melroy design both?

Robert Pearlman

Former STS-120 crew member Michael Foreman is credited with the initial design this patch.

Harald Kraenzel

Blue or purple?

The STS-120 patch shows an blue area in the lower section (where the name TANI and the mission number STS-120 can be read). Having a look at the crew photo it looks to me that the embroidered patches worn by the astronauts show a purple lower area instead of the blue area.

Discoloration with photography and spot lights? Are there any other pictures showing the embroidered patch worn by the astronauts?

Robert Pearlman

AB Emblem has begun production of the STS-120 patch:

The STS-120 embroidered emblem design has been approved and is now in production.

Robert Pearlman

The 10A payload insignia:

lewarren

Folks that work the flights (especially the payloads group) often have polo shirts with the particular emblem embroidered on them.

Marwin2

quote:The gold vector is in the shape of a '6' to represent the primary crew members of STS-120;

What means "primary crew" here?

Robert Pearlman

"Primary crew" or "core crew" refers to the six astronauts who both launched and will land on Discovery. In other words, everyone but Tani and Anderson.

Marwin2

Thank you very much for explanation...

Robert Pearlman

Two photos of the STS-120 insignia added to the International Space Station:

Jacques van Oene

Now that Discovery is back on Earth it is a good time to release to you a design that almost became the STS-120 crew patch...

Wow, Tim's design was one of the final two, well done!!! I noticed that Capt. Mike Foreman was on STS-120 at the time, he was bumped in favor of Dr. Wilson (with her previous robotics experience), correct?